Your Very First WW-I Aircraft-What was It?

[lcarroll]

   I think my first WWI Kit was the Aurora Ni 11 with the rockets mounted on the "V" Struts. I had built the Aurora WWII kits starting with the Hellcat, the release of WWI subjects took care of my paper delivery wages for the next several years. Great memories, and the Kits were a real step forward for the day, longer ago then I wish to dwell on!!
Cheers,
Lance

[cduckworth]

I started modeling back in the Fred Flintstone era with Aurora and Airfix WW1 kits in the last 1950 and Revell (1/72) WW1 kits in the early 1960's.  I remember the pricing; Aurora WW1 single-seat models were 69 cents and the two-seaters were 98 cents.  The Airfix Triplane was 29 cents and the two-seaters were 50 cents.  You'd hit the library and checkout the hardbound Profiles books and look over the various color schemes.  Small bottles of enamel and tube glue were 10 cents each. 

I probably built the Fokker DVII by Aurora first.  They were designed for kids to built; low parts count, two different plastic colors just in case you didn't want to paint it and the locations for the decals were etched on to the parts just to make sure you knew what you were going.  I remember building the S.E. 5 and Camel early on as well.   I remember painting the loz pattern on the Fokker DVIII wing to match the cool box art and then seeing the Profile sans the loz on the wings - early lesson in checking your sources before painting.

Charlie

[Suffolk Lad]

Coo, this is testing the grey cells  .

I do remember my first plastic was the ubiquitous Airfix blue Spitfire in the polybag - two shillings (?) from Woolworth ('Woolies') but first WW1??? Hmmm not so sure, Definitely the Sopwith Camel as far as those Keil-Kraft flying models were concerned - but I don't recall anything Airfix except perhaps the Bristol F2B. I think my first successful WW1 plastic was one of the Merit 1/48 range - still available I believe.

I do remember making an Airfix DVa for a 'plastic' competition at our model flying club in the late sixties. I scratched an internal structure from sprue built over the scale drawings in the Aeromodeller magazine and rigged it with 5 amp fuse wire !!  Finished  in the colours shown inside the cover of the relevant Profile magazine and mounted on a cigar box lid covered with stick back green baize  it came second because the judge (the local model shop owner and in later years a really great friend, Stan Gooderham) thought the purple and green camouflage was fictitious. My first experience of competition and 'judging'. Oh how I wish old Stan was still around.

Thanks for the nostalgia hit guys

Regards - Tug

[eindecker]

Aurora Albatros. Don't remember the model though. Early 1950s I think. Been partial to the Albatros since, just behind the Eindecker though.

[53ryder]

Back in Junior High School around 1966 or 1967 I built a SE5a kit. Seems it was about 1/72 in scale. Don't remember the company who made it. Been too many years ago.


Glenn

[aliluke]

My memory on this is very good - my first WW1 kit is the WNW Snipe and I'm still building it  . But I started model making back in the 60's - Airfix and the occasional Tamiya - everything - planes, cars, ships, tanks but never anything from WW1 unfortunately.

[sobrien]

My first WW1 plane was one of the venerable Revell 1/72 kits in the late 60's. Couldn't tell you which one, but I built them all. Then it was moving uo to the revell 1/28 kits.

Sean

[ondra]

This is a great topic, guys, thanks for creating it!

I got into WWI modelling when I was 15, i. e. 20 years ago. Not very surprisingly, my first model was a scratchbuilt Eindecker, made of paper and steel wire. Already then I was clear about the scale of my heart, it was 1/144.

Cheers

Ondra

[Jeff K]

My very first WWI model was a Guillow Camel my dad and I (well, mostly my dad) built. Crashed it (rubber powered free Flight).

My first successful build on my own was a Revell 1/72 Albatros. There were some failed attempts at Revell 1/72 and 1/28 before the Albatros happened to me.

Present day, getting back into it, first kit is bought is the Encore/Roden McCudden Se5a. Doesn't ship outside the US so it may not be my first WWI build upon returning to modeling. Based on threads I read on Aerodrome, it may take a few decades before I have any idea what pc-10 is...

[Ian from Doncaster]

Only relatively recently for me, when I was getting back into modelling.  It would be the Airfix RNAS Pup in 1:72 as part of a box set of naval aircraft through the years.

Needless to say it wasn't a great build!

[JamesAPrattIII]

Airfix Arvo 504 nightfighter conversion from a Airfix magazine early 1970s

[janh]

Airfix Roland Cl II in the mid sixties

[RLWP]

Airfix Roland Cl II in the mid sixties

I've been racking my brain, I think that was my first too. Unpainted, light blue with glue splodges

It may have been part of a Dogfight Double

Richard

[timpivonka]

I'd have to say probably an Aurora 1/48th Nieuport 28.  Probably around 1962 or 1963.

Tim Pivonka

[Old Man]

Hard to say for sure at this late date, but the best candidate is a Revell 1/28 S.P.A.D. XIII --- I have a strong memory of the pieces, the motor in particular, and a place I was living in the late fifties....